Not Like This
by MarzBarz
Summary: Ban wanted to hear those three words, but not now, not like this, not said as if he might never hear them again. Slightly depressing, BanxGinji shounen-ai. Leave a review, please! Enjoy!


Ban's head was throbbing and his side was in serious pain and there was blood dripping into his eyes but none of that mattered to him because Ginji was in trouble and Ban didn't know where his partner was and nothing would ever be more important to Ban than Ginji, not even how much pain he was personally in. Somebody had heard the commotion caused by the fighting, had seen all the blood and the battered Yakuza (and a battered Ban but Ban didn't notice them) and called an ambulance so help was coming. Which was definitely a good thing because Ban was pretty sure that as soon as he made sure Ginji was ok he was going to pass out.

There was a trail of blood leading from where Ban had last seen Ginji around a corner to where a blonde was slumped against a wall, arms circled around his middle as though he were trying to keep his guts inside himself, red staining his shirt and shorts, an ugly-looking gash across his forehead. Ban staggered around the corner, saw the blonde, and sprinted to his side regardless of the pain flashing through his side, dropping to his knees beside his partner.

"Ginji!" Ban called frantically, panic building in his chest as he observed Ginji's wounds and ashen face, personal pain forgotten in the face of his partner's. "Ban-chan," Ginji croaked out, voice weak, "Are you ok?" Ban nodded, said "I'm fine, don't worry buddy, there's an ambulance coming, you'll be ok too," and felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach as he saw how unfocused Ginji's eyes were.

"We got them all, Ban-chan?" Ginji rasped before coughing harshly once, blood coming from his mouth. Ban's heart, already in the pit of his stomach, contracted painfully at the sight, and he fought to keep his hands steady as he grabbed Ginji's hand and squeezed gently. "All taken care of. They won't be bothering us for a while," he said, more to keep Ginji focusing on him than anything else.

Ginji's eyes were glazed over and Ban could hear his breath hitching every now and then as if it took a massive amount of effort to breathe. "Ban-chan, I…" Ginji began, coughing up blood again before continuing, "I love you…always have…always will."

Ban felt as if his heart were shattering in his chest, his world cracking down the middle and splitting in half and there was nothing to catch himself on. "Ginji…" he said, forcing the words past the lump in his throat, "Ginji, please don't do this. You…you can tell me when we get to the hospital, you can tell me every night for the rest of your life if you want to, but don't…just don't say it like that. You're not leaving me!" Ban squeezed Ginji's hand, grabbing Ginji's chin with his other hand and turning his partner to face him. "I love you too, Ginji, so please, don't leave me. Don't leave me alone."

Ban leaned forward and forcefully pressed his lips to Ginji's. He felt his partner kiss back for a few seconds before relaxing beneath him. Ban leaned back to see that his partner's eyes were closed, his hand limp in Ban's grasp. Kneeling by his partner Ban felt tears begin to stream down his cheeks, blurring his vision; he wiped at them harshly, trying to keep the image of Ginji as clear as possible. Medics roughly pushed past him, picked up Ginji, took him somewhere else as they got Ban to his feet and into an ambulance. Ban's heart had been replaced by a Ginji-shaped hole that soon swallowed him in darkness.

Ban woke up in the hospital, Himiko sitting in a chair next to him, Paul, Natsumi, and Hevn sitting on a couch in the back of the room. "Ban?" Himiko asked, leaning forward, face filled with concern. Ban barely acknowledged her or the rest of those in the hospital room. He looked around in confusion before the memory of the previous events came rushing back to him. "Ginji!" he rasped out, bolting into a sitting position and trying to swing his legs out of the bed.

Paul was beside him in a flash, gently but firmly pushing him back down on the bed as he said "You're not going anywhere. Ginji's still in surgery, we'll let you know how he's doing as soon as we hear. Now stay there; you're no good to anyone half-dead because you didn't let yourself heal." Ban tried to protest, but his body was agreeing with Paul, so he accepted the painkillers offered by Hevn and let himself drift off into a dreamless sleep.

When next Ban woke up, Paul was the only one still there. He was standing in the doorway of the room talking to a nurse in a voice too low for Ban to hear. The nurse left and Ban said "Ginji?" as Paul turned back towards him. "He'll be ok. He's in a room not too far from this one, but both of you need rest, so don't even think about doing anything stupid. I'm heading off, it's pretty late and the staff is about to kick me out. We'll be back to check on you tomorrow," Paul said in a reassuring yet stern voice that was betrayed by the smirk on his face, as though he didn't believe for a second that Ban would actually listen to him.

Ban nodded and stayed in his bed until he was sure Paul and the nurse were far enough away that they wouldn't notice him sneaking out of his room to find his missing partner. He slipped off of the bed slowly, wincing slightly as he stood up, then slipped out of the room and off to find Ginji.

When Ban found Ginji's room, he took a couple deep breaths before entering; seeing Ginji hurt as bad as he had to be was never something Ban was really prepared to see. Entering the room, his breath caught in his throat at how pale and vulnerable his friend looked. He was saved from seeing most of Ginji's injuries by the blanket covering him, but the bandage wrapped around his forehead was far too close to the color of his skin for Ban's liking. Ban silently crossed the room and tenderly smoothed Ginji's hair away from his face, fingers lightly brushing his forehead.

"Ban-chan?" Ginji mumbled quietly, slowly opening his eyes as Ban ran his fingers through the soft blonde spikes. "I'm right here, Gin," Ban whispered softly. Ginji smiled and reached out his hand, trying to find Ban's. Ban grabbed his partner's hand and held it, sitting on the edge of Ginji's hospital bed.

Slowly Ban bent over, touching his forehead to Ginji's lightly, mindful of the healing wound. "Don't you dare do that again," he said softly, squeezing Ginji's hand gently. Ginji looked at him in confusion, not entirely sure what his partner was talking about. "Never, ever talk like that again," Ban said even quieter than before; with their foreheads touching, Ginji could see all the unshed tears in those brilliant blue eyes.

"I do love you, Ban-chan," Ginji said softly, reaching up his other hand to cup Ban's cheek gently. "And I wanted you to know. Just in case." He tried to pour all the feeling he had for Ban into his gaze, tried to transmit them through his hand, wanted to convey them to Ban more than anything in the world. "Did you mean what you said, Ban-chan?" he asked slowly, stroking Ban's cheek gently with his hand. Ban leaned back to lock eyes with Ginji, trying to convey the depth of everything he felt to his partner before replying "Every word. Don't leave me alone, Ginji. Please."

Ginji smiled at his partner, then propped himself up on one elbow and kissed Ban gently. Ban closed his eyes, savoring the sensation of his lips against GInji's for a moment before gently pushing his partner back onto the bed. "I saw the shape your stomach was in, you really shouldn't be moving at all yet," Ban explained when he saw Ginji's hurt expression. Leaning down, he kissed Ginji again, breaking away only to tenderly kiss his partner's forehead.

"You need to rest," Ban told his partner. "The sooner you heal up, the sooner we can do more than just kiss," he said, grinning as Ginji turned an adorable shade of red and squeaked "Ban-chan!" Leaning forward once more Ban gave Ginji a last quick kiss on the lips, then squeezed his hand before turning and going back to his room, saying "Sweet dreams, Ginji," over his shoulder. Ginji smiled, snuggling into the covers of his hospital bed, and dreamed of Ban-chan.

Ban made his way back to his room and climbed into his hospital bed, feeling his heart slowly piece itself back together, filling the Ginji-sized hole. His partner would be fine in a matter of days, they would leave the hospital, and they would be the GetBackers again, with an 'S'. They would be partners, neither of them alone. And everything would be the way it should be. Ban fell asleep with a smile on his face.

=GB=

I saw a prompt somewhere that was something like "Ban/Ginji, telling each other how they feel in a situation they might not survive (although its ok if they do)" and this popped into my head. I got it all down in under an hour, which is pretty fast for me. I couldn't go through with killing poor Ginji, so he lives, and he and Ban continue to be cute. Huzzah! Anyways, please review, I would love some feedback. Hope you liked it.


End file.
